3 Cardinals who could be traded this offseason if Paul Goldschmidt resigns

Nolan Gorman

Gorman currently finds himself in purgatory with the Cardinals. Now granted they have faced a decent amount of left-handed starting pitchers recently, but he is hovering around the Mendoza Line right now and his playing time has declined because of that. Gorman is 6 for his last 59 dating back to July 10.

So why would Gorman potentially be traded if Goldschmidt gets a new contract? If you look at who is with the big club right now, the player who mostly handles first base when Goldschmidt gets an off day is Alec Burleson, which I believe would also make him the most likely candidate to take over over anyone else on the roster.

Burleson has arguably been the team's offensive MVP this year, so as it stands right now you're keeping him around, but if you're keeping Goldschmidt around as well that keeps Burleson in the outfield, whether it's right field or left field. You then have Michael Siani, Victor Scott II, Lars Nootbaar, and Jordan Walker competing for playing time in the outfield, and that leaves out the player who has played left field more than anyone in Brendan Donovan.

You would assume the plan is to have Walker back in the big leagues and playing every day sooner rather than later, and if the outfield is healthy, do you need Donovan to play the outfield as much as he's had this season? It's great to have Donovan's defensive versatility, but with all those outfielders you might see Donovan play predominantly second base, which is where Gorman currently plays when he is in the lineup.

You could have Gorman DH but he hasn't made this any easier for himself with how poorly he has hit this season. Burleson has been the offensive player that lots of us were expecting Gorman to be this year, someone to provide protection to Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, so I think this makes Gorman expendable.

His upside is still very high as a prolific power hitter, and he is only 24 years old, but he is having all kinds of struggles at the plate in 2024 and is losing playing time. If the Cardinals decide to keep Goldschmidt past this season, they may have to make a decision with their slumping young slugger.